Artwork
Gopsmor Cottage
Gopsmor Cottage is an ink print by Anders Zorn. It dates from 1917 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Anders Zorn’s Gopsmor Cottage is an etching on laid paper executed in 1917. The work is part of the National Gallery of Art’s collection in Washington, D.C. Rendered in monochrome, the print measures roughly the size typical of Zorn’s small‑scale prints and exemplifies his interest in atmospheric woodland scenes.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts two figures seated on a bench amid a densely treed setting. One figure turns slightly away, while the other looks forward, both adopting relaxed postures that suggest a quiet, contemplative pause within nature. The intimate scale and informal pose convey a sense of private retreat rather than narrative drama.
Technique & Style
Zorn achieved the image through a layered etching process, employing thick, intersecting cross‑hatching to model foliage and create depth. The successive lines build tonal variation, giving the trees a textured, almost tactile quality. This method produces a sketch‑like vitality, where light and shadow emerge from the density of the line work.
History & Provenance
Created toward the end of World War I, Gopsmor Cottage entered the National Gallery of Art’s holdings through acquisition in the mid‑20th century. The print has remained in the museum’s print and drawing department, where it is displayed as part of the institution’s representation of early 20th‑century Swedish printmaking.
Artist & collection
Artist
Anders Leonard Zorn was born in February 1860 in Mora, Dalarna, the illegitimate son of a Bavarian brewer and a Swedish farmer's daughter; his mother died shortly after his birth, and his grandparents raised him.
Omnibus
"Wohl auf, kameraden, aufs pferd, aufs pferd! Ins feld, in die freiheit gezogen!" ("Come On, Comrades, to Horse, to Horse! To Battle, Bound for Liberty!")
Solitude
Robert in the Theater
Ouvriers Sortant de L'Usine
The Orgy (L'orgie)
Suspension d'audience (Recess of the Hearing)
On Stage I
Suspension d'audience (Recess of the Hearing)
Blast Furnace
Baignoire au théatre (Lower Box at the Theater)
Gopsmor Cottage